Millis Select Board backs FY26 budget, adds Tri‑County debt reserve and $300,000 building‑repair fund to warrant

The Millis Select Board on April 7 voted unanimously to recommend a fiscal year 2026 town budget that allocates a 6% increase for both municipal and school budgets, and to add two articles to the upcoming May 5 town meeting warrant: a Tri‑County debt reserve and a $300,000 account for unanticipated repairs at town and school buildings.

The board’s recommended budget keeps the school department at a level‑service position plus $72,342 (a roughly 6% increase for the schools) and makes modest municipal increases to cover staffing and operating needs. The town administrator and finance director told the board the package funds one additional full‑time highway laborer in the Department of Public Works, adds a new human resources program (two full‑time HR positions and supporting hours for a benefits/generalist role), increases hours for the IT and recreation directors, and funds an additional firefighter position to be paid from ambulance receipts. The board also included modest capital and operating requests such as authorization to lease two police cruisers; the lease authorization is funded within the police operating budget.

Why it matters: town officials said the budget balances rising cost drivers — including an approximately 11% increase in health insurance and a larger pension assessment — against shrinking “new growth” revenue expectations. The town’s finance director estimated new growth at roughly $600,000 for FY26 (down from prior…